Strana 54
W.Nr. 8165, Hptm. Karl-Heinz Leesmann, CO of I./JG 52, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 1941
Hptm. Hans Hahn, CO of III./JG 2, Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, France, July 1941
Karl-Heinz Leesmann was born on May 3, 1915,
in Osnabrück. After completing pilot training
with the Luftwaffe, he participated in the
French campaign and the Battle of Britain as
a member of JG 52. On August 27, 1940, he was
appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 52. On May
24, 1941, he became Gruppenkommandeur of
I./JG 52. His WNr. 8165 aircraft displayed
victories achieved on the Western Front on the
port side of the fin below the swastika. Before
Operation Barbarossa, I./JG 52 was transferred
to the Eastern Front. On November 6, 1941, during
combat with Soviet aircraft, Leesmann made an
emergency landing near Ruza with a shattered
right forearm. After a long hospitalization and
recovery, he returned to I./JG 52 in May 1942.
In March 1943, he transferred to III./JG 11. On July
25, 1943, while flying a Bf 109G-6, he was shot
down during an attack on a B-17 over the North
Sea near Heligoland. His body was washed
ashore on August 16, 1943, and he was buried
in Recklinghausen.
Hans “Assi” Hahn, a fighter ace and recipient
of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, led the
4./JG 2 from December 1939 and the III./JG 2 from
October 29, 1940. A total of 31 victory symbols
on the tail of his aircraft were tied to Hahn’s
operations on the Western Front. His 31st victory
was achieved on July 10, 1941, near Saint-Omer,
when he shot down two Spitfires. Beginning
on November 1, 1942, he took command of
II./JG 54 and led this Gruppe until February 21,
1943, when he was shot down and captured
by Soviet forces. Hahn was not released from
captivity until 1950, during which he wrote
a book about his experiences in prison titled
“Ich spreche die Wahrheit!” (I speak the truth!).
Before his capture, he achieved 108 victories,
66 of which were on the Western Front. The
rooster’s head painted on his aircraft symbolized
the III. Gruppe JG 2’s staff planes and was
derived from Hahn’s surname, as “Hahn” means
rooster in German. Hans Hahn passed away
in 1982, and his wife later remarried the night
fighter pilot Wolfgang Falck.
KITS 05/2026
INFO Eduard54
May 2026